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July 03, 2019

Govt to Take Strict Action Against Those Involved in Fake Invoices

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur said the government intends to follow the policy of “imandaar trader se bair nahi, fake invoices walon ki khair nahi” (no enmity against any honest trader, but those generating fake invoices will not be spared). He was speaking at an event to mark the 2nd anniversary of GST organized by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC).

“Government will take strict action against those involved in generating fake invoices. The menace of fake invoices needs to be checked as the actions of a few unscrupulous traders make the majority of honest taxpayers uncompetitive and cause loss to government revenue. The government is serious about curbing this menace,” he added.

“It’s a work in progress and the foundation has been laid and we are optimistic that we will deliver on our commitment. What we have put in place is already better than what we had pre-GST. There can be no better evidence for this than the fact that my party is back in the government even after implementing GST. I am told this is the first for any country or any party across the globe, so it’s a great achievement,” he said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha said 535 cases of fake invoices involving a total fraudulent claim of Rs 2,565 crore of input tax credit (ITC) have been booked and 40 persons have been arrested in the current financial year. In 2018-19, 1,620 cases of fake invoices were registered and as many as 154 persons were arrested.